School & Community Partnerships

RPS PRIDE

We wish to thank everyone in our community for their supportive and heartwarming messages. The RPS Pride continues outside of our fences and has proven that even during uncertain times it will not waver. We have banded together and come out shining. CONGRATULATIONS RPS!

LEARNING DECK

The school is in the process of designing a new deck to be located underneath the beautiful trees at the western edge of our school oval. We have architectural designs and estimates for the construction of the deck, and we are now looking for someone amongst our community to help with the engineering of this deck. Is there anyone that is willing to share their knowledge or lend a hand in ensuring our deck will look beautiful as well as stand the test of time (and meet all legal obligations)? If so, please contact Colin Smith on 0425 710 478 to discuss further.

EARLY CHILDHOOD CORNER

For those of you at home with children 0-5 and looking for ideas, here is a list of resources you may wish to access…

Instagram:

- Little Lockdown – A page with great play based ideas developed by an experienced Early Childhood Teacher for babies through to pre-schoolers https://www.instagram.com/little.lockdown/

- Artcraftyliving - Great ideas for open-ended play experiences for children aged 0-2 https://www.instagram.com/acraftyliving/

Websites:

- Early Education: ABC Kids - https://www.abc.net.au/abckids/early-education/

- FUSE – Early Childhood - https://fuse.education.vic.gov.au/EarlyChildHood

Activities:

Nature Mandalas are a great activity to do with young children. Not only do they provide a connection with the natural world as children explore and hunt for natural materials, but they also support children with their developing numeracy skills as they engage in sorting, classifying and pattern making. A fun and easy activity to do whilst getting some fresh air!

You could also take home some of the natural materials you collect and do nature threading. This activity creates some beautiful mobiles the children can hang in their rooms whilst also supporting them with their developing fine motor skills. Skills that are vitally important for when they go off to school and start learning how to write!

ONLINE SOCIAL NETWORKING

As RPS navigates this time and our community becomes more connected through the use of social networking platforms such as What’s App, Instagram and Facebook we would like to take the time to remember that just as we talk with our children about respectful online protocols, we should also embody ethical online practices.

Here at RPS Staff, parents, and students reflect a diverse set of customs, values and points of view. We need to ensure that we are all respectful of the opinions of others in our posts or comments. Under no circumstances should offensive comments be made about students, parents or staff nor the School in general. Any posts and comments should help build and support the School community.

From a practical perspective when establishing or navigating groups such as What’s App it may be helpful to establish a set of group guidelines or rules to ensure that everyone feels safe and respected. One of our Foundation groups has kindly shared an example however feel free to create your own.

*The Golden Rules*

1. When in doubt, don’t post.
2. Always keep to the purpose of the group! Don’t share irrelevant messages about other topics.
3. Do not spam the group! This group is not for sharing memes etc.
4. Post your message in one single chunk of text, don’t post every word or sentence in a new message.
5. Do not have one-on-one conversations in the group. Switch to private messages.
6. If someone asks a question and you don’t know the answer don’t respond with “I don’t know”. Just wait for someone who knows the answer to reply.
7. Please don’t send in a hundred “thank you” messages. If you feel gratitude towards someone – tell them in a private message.
8. Please be conscious there’s a mix of Mums and Dads involved in the activities this group is trying to support.
9. If you think someone needs help to follow the rules of this group please contact them in a private/polite message.

Most importantly remember to be kind, be respectful and if you have an issue contact the person or school directly to address your concerns.

Due to the continued uncertainty around how the transition back to school will occur Snack Shack will continue to remain closed for the remainder of Term 2. As we draw closer to Term 3 and have clearer guidelines around how school will operate, we will keep you informed about the re-opening.

When the re-opening does occur remember we cannot run the Snack Shack without our awesome Parent volunteers - so when your Class Rep sends around the new roster, please sign up!

BOOK CLUB

Issue 3 orders have now closed, if you ordered them to be delivered to school we will be in touch about delivery.  If you are having them delivered at home - deliveries usually arrive 2-3 weeks after orders have closed, but there will be added delays.

All Issue 2 orders that were not collected at the end of Term 1 will be distributed upon our return to school.

UNIFORM SHOP

The uniform shop will continue to be closed until further notice. Please remember you can go online and purchase items you need from EduThreads - https://eduthreads.com.au/collections/ripponlea-primary-school

GARDEN CLUB

Even though we cannot currently run garden club we are still planning for the future. We are always looking for potting mix, seeds, seedling trays or pots (plastic/terracotta - any sizes).  If you have any Garden Club donations email us at ripperfamilies@gmail.com and we can organise collection.

FUNDRAISING

Unfortunately at this time our fundraising is on hold. However, we do have lots of great ideas and events planned once we can all physically be together again at RPS. More importantly we will continue to make sure we think of ways for everyone to stay connected. If you have any ideas don’t hesitate to email us at ripperfamilies@gmail.com